Why systems that foster belonging don’t happen by accident—they happen by choice.
Some ideas are so clarifying that once you see them, you can’t unsee them. john a. powell’s work on belonging is like that.
He argues that belonging is not a feeling we hope people eventually develop—it is a condition we build. It shows up in policies, in design choices, in the small interactions that signal whether someone is part of a community or merely adjacent to it. Belonging is created—or denied—through the structures we shape and the choices we make.
That insight has stayed with me. For years, I’ve heard people describe belonging as “soft” or intangible, something we can encourage but can’t design for. In practice, the opposite is true. Our systems already produce a kind of belonging—they draw boundaries about who counts, who is trusted, who has access, and whose experience is centered when decisions are made.
If we aren’t intentional, belonging defaults to exclusion.
In my forthcoming book, I draw on powell’s reminder that systems are designed by people—and therefore can be redesigned. When the people closest to the work shape the policies, processes, and everyday routines, the result is different: clearer steps, warmer front doors, fewer hoops, and a sense that support is something you’re part of, not something you must earn.
Belonging isn’t a bonus. It’s infrastructure. It determines whether people feel seen or invisible, welcomed or scrutinized, supported or on their own.
As we step into a new year, powell’s work invites us to widen our circle—to build systems that don’t just meet needs, but knit communities together.
If you’re new to powell’s work, the Othering & Belonging Institute at UC Berkeley, where he serves as Director, is a rich starting point for understanding how belonging is shaped by systems and structures. His latest book, The Power of Bridging, offers a grounded, hopeful look at how we can design communities—and institutions—that widen the circle of who belongs.
Where have you seen belonging intentionally designed into a program, place, or community?
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